Heat-developable photographic light-sensitive materials and a process for forming images using the materials are well known and are described in detail, for example, in Shashin Kogaku no Kiso (Fundamentals of Photographic Engineering), Corona Co., Ltd., Tokyo, pp. 553-555 (1979), Eizo Joho (Image Information) (April, 1978), pp. 40, and Neblett's Handbook of Photography and Reprography, 7th Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, pp. 32-33 (1977). For the formation of, in particular, color images, various techniques have been proposed, including a method in which couplers are used as dye releasing compounds (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,531,286, 3,761,270, 4,021,240, Belgian Pat. No. 802,519, and Research Disclosure (September, 1975), pp. 31-32), a method in which compounds with a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring group introduced in the dye portion are used as dye releasing compounds (see Research Disclosure (May, 1978), pp 54-58), a method utilizing the silver dye bleaching process (see Research Disclosure (April, 1976), pp. 30-32, ibid. (December, 1976), pp. 14-15, and U.S. Pat No. 4,235,957), and a method utilizing leuco dyes (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,985,565 and 4,022,617).
These methods, however, have their respective disadvantages. Their common disadvantages are that the development requires relatively long periods of time, images formed have undesirably high fog levels, and on the contrary, the maximum density (D.sub.max) is lower than desired.
In order to overcome the above problems, Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 58,543/83 (The term "OPI" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application".) discloses a method using dye releasing reductive compounds which release hydrophilic dyes. Although this method has succeeded in ameliorating the above disadvantages, it has been desired to obtain a light-sensitive material which can be heat-developed at relatively low temperatures, and in short period of time, and in which a high maximum density can be obtained while preventing the formation of fog.
As a result of extensive studies, the present inventors have found that the properties of the light-sensitive material of the prior art are extraordinarily improved when the specific compounds which accelerate development of the light-sensitive material without lowering storage ability.